The minute details are vital to a good story. While reading Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, the vivid detail put into every sentence is what helps you mentally visualize the book and makes you want to read on. No matter what Melville is writing about, he puts meticulous detail into every line and carefully crafts his sentences to make them engaging and to fully explicate the story. It wasn't hard for me to immediately recognize how detailed every aspect of Melville's writing was. Wherever I was reading Moby Dick, I felt like I was present in whatever scene the story was taking place at. At first, I enjoyed the detail but I didn't have an appreciation for it, but by now, on Chapter 77, the detail of the book is my favorite part. At no other point in my reading experience was the detail in a book more evident to me then when I picked up Moby Dick for the first time and began reading it. Because of the unparalleled descriptions put into every chapter, paragraph, and sentence, I began to feel like I was on the Pequod with Ishmael and the rest of the ship's crew. For the first time reading a book, I felt an immediate connection with the characters and a resentment towards Moby Dick. I began to despise the creature and wanted to seek revenge against him like Captain Ahab did. I am truly thankful for reading Moby Dick because if I had not, I never would have realized how vital adding detail to a story is. Although the book can become slightly pedantic at times, there is never a dull moment where I want to put it down because the details make me want to read on. For me, I now know to always remember to add detail to my writing because it is what makes reading a story exciting and it is what makes Moby Dick arguably the best American novel of all time.

Nice, but did you make a voice video of this? I know it can be frustrating to be putting in so much energy into a book--especially when some of the class is not doing as much, but it WILL be worth it! Thanks for doing it.